Free School Meals
Pupil Premium Funding – applying for free school meals
Universal Infant Free School Meals (UFISM)
All children in reception, year 1 and year 2 at state schools in England automatically get free school meals.
However, parents and guardians are encouraged to apply for free school meals when they enrol their child
in school, as this can help their child’s school to attract additional ‘pupil premium’ funding to support
learning.
Benefits-related Free School Meals
From year 3 onwards, children whose parents are getting any of the following are entitled to free school
meals:
Universal Credit (provided you have an annual net earned income of no more than £7,400, as
assessed by earnings from up to three of your most recent assessment periods).
Income Support (IS).
Income-based Jobseekers Allowance (IBJSA).
Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (IRESA).
The guaranteed element of State Pension Credit.
Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.
Child Tax Credit (provided you’re not also entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual
gross income that does not exceed £16,190).
Working Tax Credit run-on (the payment you get for a further 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for
Working Tax Credit).
How to apply
Devon County Council want to make sure that all entitled children in Devon don’t miss out on receiving
these meals. They have introduced an ‘opt-out’ rather than ‘opt-in’ system that uses existing public sector
and county council records to automatically identify and register entitled children for free school meals.
Families will no longer need to apply.
The process uses government and county council benefits-related data to identify families who qualify for
free school meals. They then check if they’ve already registered, and if not, they can register them.
Families can still choose not to take part (this is called opting out). But if they do nothing, their child will be
included.
However, you can apply as normal through the Devon Citizens Portal which can be accessed here:
https://oneonline.devon.gov.uk/CCSCitizenPortal_LIVE/en?ReturnUrl=%2FCCSCitizenPortal_live
This is the quickest and easiest way to apply and will result in you getting an instant decision. Alternatively,
call the Education Helpline on 0345 155 1019.
But some families don’t apply. This may be because of:
language barriers
stigma (feeling embarrassed)
no internet access
not knowing if they’re eligible
This means families miss out on:
up to £450 in savings per year
supermarket vouchers in school holidays
help with school uniforms
access to free holiday clubs and food (HAF programme)
Why are Devon County Council doing this?
The benefits for schools and families are wide-reaching, including:
Children having better access to nutritious meals, supporting concentration, attendance, and
overall academic performance
Families facing less financial pressure and food insecurity
Schools receiving more funding and less administrative workload
The council advancing its goals to reduce child poverty, promote equity, and improve service
access
What’s the process?
There are five main steps in the new auto-enrolment system:
1. Collecting the data & Confirming eligibility
Devon County Council have brought together information from government and county council
held records (such as the School Census and Local Welfare Provision) to help find pupils who may
be entitled to free school meals, but aren’t yet registered.
2. Checking the data
DCC carefully review the combined data and look for families with school-aged children who
receive certain government-specified benefits, as these pupils may qualify for free school meals.
3. Giving families the chance to opt out
Devon County Council will send schools and other education settings a list of eligible pupils and ask
them to send a letter to each family explaining what free school meals are, and that they plan to
register their child for the support. The letter also let’s families know that if they prefer that Devon
didn’t do this, they can opt out by filling in a short online form.
4. Registering pupils
Once the opt-out period ends, Devon County Council remove the records of those families who
opted out and register the rest up for the support through the usual Department for Education